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When I was a child I wouldn’t eat tomatoes. My mom would snack on cartons of cherry tomatoes while we rode in the car, eating them until the acid made her mouth hurt. Oh, not me. Ketchup? On a hot dog, maybe…Sauce? Okay, once in awhile – but never touching my buttered spaghetti. And raw tomatoes…nope, never.I don’t recall exactly when I changed my mind about tomatoes, but it was a slow, gradual shift. It started with a slice on a sandwich, then salsa fresca. Then I learned about heirlooms…and fried green tomatoes…and tomato jam, and chutney and, and, and…Finally, three years ago I ate my weight in fresh garden tomatoes, quartered and sprinkled with salt, drizzled with emerald green Italian olive oil – a friendly gift from a garden that kept on giving.If Adult Me could go back and have a sit-down with Child Me, one of the pieces of wisdom I would offer is about the vast sweet deliciousness of a perfectly ripe tomato. The satisfaction of the taut skin of a cherry tomato bursting between your teeth. The warm earthy scent that wafts from tomatoes clinging to the vine in the hot summer sun. I would ask that little girl to close her eyes and inhale the scent, take a little bite and give it just the tiniest chance. I would sit in anticipation while she scrunched up her face and moved the fruit around in her mouth, trying to decide whether she liked this new thing, or she didn’t. But even if Child Me turned up her nose, I could still be satisfied that at some point in her life, she did change her mind. And Adult Me is enjoying every bite.

Extend your tomato season: join us at Jammin’ Crepes on September 16, for a class all about preserving the tomato. Tickets available here.

Join us November 9 at 1pm for a class on the art of vegetable fermentation! Learn how to make these delicious, highly nutritious foods, and how to incorporate them into your diet. For more information and to sign up, visit the classes page.

Who doesn’t Like A Warm Grilled Cheese On A Chilly Fall Day?

Cherry Grove Farm is happy to announce that we will have Chef Carmine Sacchitello at the farm this fall serving up some creative farmstead grilled cheeses. Taste the flavors of our raw milk cheese straight from the cave and see how the depth of flavor changes with the addition of a little heat.

Sit back and relax on our peaceful organic pastures with a warm toasty lunch made with our Local Farmstead Cheese & Village Bakery Bread!

Get a $1 Off By Telling Chef Carmine Mr. Scruffy Sent You.

Read more about the grilled cheeses and Carmine’s Tomato-Tarragon Soup Here, compliments of Princetoneats.org.